Direct sovereign wealth fund transactions in calendar year 2012 totaled $57.3 billion, representing a 36% drop from the previous year of $89.5 billion, according to data from the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. Which sovereign wealth funds are most active? The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), Temasek, and other wealth funds that don’t follow index strategy.
“It depends on the philosophy of the fund. You won’t have the Alaska Permanent Fund buying a large stake because if you look at their asset allocation, a lot it is externally managed. And they’ve done quite well,” the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute’s President Michael Maduell said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The federal government Future Fund has been given approval to spend $2 billion buying stakes in a range of Australian and European airports. Investors in the Hastings Fund Management-controlled Australian Infrastructure Fund (AIX) on Tuesday voted to sell its holdings in the sought-after airport assets to the Future Fund.
The vote means the Future Fund can take control of AIX’s stakes in Perth Airport, Queensland Airports, Northern Territory Airports and the Australian Pacific Airports Corporation, which owns Melbourne and Launceston airports………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Australian Infrastructure Fund Ltd. shareholders approved a deal to sell the company’s assets, including interests in airports across the country and in Europe, to Australia’s sovereign wealth fund for 2 billion Australian dollars (US$2.1 billion).
Australia’s Future Fund, set up by the government six years ago to pay for civil servant pensions, has been gradually increasing its exposure to infrastructure. The A$80 billion fund offered A$3.22 per security for the assets, a 22% premium to the company’s share price as of Aug. 23, when the proposal was announced………………………………………..Full Article: Source

China Investment Corporation is eyeing greater exposure to manufacturing, property and real-asset investments, says chairman and chief executive Lou Jiwei. Much of the investment by China’s sovereign wealth fund last year was into public stock and bond markets, but in 2013 it plans to allocate more directly to real assets and property.
China Investment Corporation (CIC) sees a “slow recovery” taking place this year, said Lou Jiwei, chairman and chief executive of the $400 billion fund, speaking at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong this week………………………………………..Full Article: Source

China Investment Corp. (CIC) will expand its investments in manufacturing and real estate this year in search of better returns, says Lou Jiwei, chairman of the country’s sovereign wealth fund.
Lou said on January 14 at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong that CIC long focused on investments in the financial and commodities sectors, but this year it would increase investment in manufacturing in a bid to further diversify. CIC would also increase investment in industries with stable returns, such as real estate and infrastructure………………………………………..Full Article: Source

China’s sovereign wealth fund, which has more than 480 billion in assets, could cut holdings of US Treasury Bonds as they are becoming a less attractive investment, state media said Tuesday.
The Shanghai Securities News quoted Lou Jiwei, chairman of sovereign wealth fund manager China Investment Corp (CIC), as telling a conference in Hong Kong on Monday that the US economic recovery had made other investments appealing………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Shareholders of Olam International Ltd approved the payment of US$6.4 million (RM) in fees to a unit of Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd for fully backing the embattled commodity firm’s US$1.2 billion bonds-with-warrants issue.
The sub-underwriting fee, which had been expected to receive approval, is being paid to Temasek, also Olam’s second-biggest shareholder, as the Singapore commodities firm taps the debt market for funds to bolster its financial position………………………………………..Full Article: Source

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, appointed Gregory Eckersley as global head of its internal equities department, overseeing portfolios, risk management and the due- diligence process.
Eckersley joined ADIA from 1770 Capital Partners, a fund he jointly started in 2011 that focuses on global energy, mining and commodities, the Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund said………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Qatar has pulled out of the bidding for the development of the site of Athens’s former international airport at Elliniko. The tender details issued by the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (TAIPED) last week were only picked up by three interested parties instead of the four that the fund had short-listed for the second round of bidding.
The Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Co, a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) that had initially taken part in the tender, did not come to sign the documents of confidentiality to receive the tender details for Elliniko………………………………………..Full Article: Source

Country’s oil revenue also climbed to all time high of over $124bn. Strong oil prices along with high output boosted the assets of the UAE’s sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) to all time high of around $451 billion at the end of 2012, according to a key Western financial group.
The country’s oil export earnings also soared to their highest level of more than $124 billion, pushing its current account balance to a new peak………………………………………..Full Article: Source